Palm Dates Value Chain Report

Transcription

Palm Dates Value Chain Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Value Chain characteristics ................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Chain actors and recent interventions ................................................................................................................ 7
1.2 Challenges and constraints in the palm dates sector ........................................................................................ 10
2. Vision................................................................................................................................................................... 12
2.1 Scenarios ........................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.2 Needed systemic change .................................................................................................................................. 13
2.3 Proposed strategy and interventions ................................................................................................................ 14
2.4 Gender dynamics .............................................................................................................................................. 17
2.5 Risk analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 17
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PALM DATE VALUE CHAIN
Palm Dates Value Chain
This report provides a description of the actual situation for the palm dates value chain in
the Gaza Strip, a mid-term vision for a more effective and inclusive palm date market
sector, constraints and scenarios that have to be taken into account as well as proposed
strategies to enhance systemic changes in the sector necessary to progress towards the
mentioned vision. Specific attention is given to gender dynamics and risk analysis.
1. Value Chain characteristics
This study focuses on palm dates production in Deir Al-Balah, as well as in the eastern
villages of Khan Younis, being the areas most known in the Gaza Strip for their palm
date production. In these areas there are approximately 1.430 palm date producers1, of
whom only 60 are women. The Al-Ahlyia Association for the Development of Palms &
Dates identifies roughly 663 small scale farmers (<20 trees), 572 medium scale farmers
(20-60 trees) and 195 large scale producers (60+ trees). In Deir Al-Balah there are
approximately 70,000 trees, while another 30,000 are found in the villages east of Khan
Younis2.
Table 1 Classification and gender disaggregation of producers
Deir Al-Balah
Small scale producers
Total
471
Women
18
Men
453
Percentage
47%
Medium scale producers
371
16
355
37%
Large scale producers
Total
Eastern villages of Khan
Younis
Small scale producers
160
1.002
Total
8
42
Women
152
960
Men
16%
100%
192
10
182
45%
Medium scale producers
201
7
194
47%
Large scale producers
Total
35
428
1
18
34
410
8%
100%
The main variety of trees grown is called Hayani, representing 90% of all palms in Gaza.
Other varieties include the Ameri, Berhi and Almjul. There is one single harvest season
per year and, for mature trees, the average net production per tree is 150kg of dates
(taking into account losses of roughly 10-20%). With 100,000 trees in Deir Al-Balah and
the eastern villages of Khan Younis, this equates to approximately 15,000 tonnes of
dates per year produced in these areas alone. Local dates produce is perceived by
1Al-Ahlyia Palm Data Association data from household survey “Field survey to count the number of palm date trees in the
Deir Al-Balah, as well as in eastern villages of Khan Younis”
2 The statistical data with the palm date association puts the number of trees at around 250,000 in all theGaza strip. The
Ministry of Agriculture places the number of trees in Gaza strip at around 150,000. However, there is some uncertainty
about what trees were counted (eg young trees, single household trees etc).
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the local population and consumers to be a „safe‟ food commodity, as only a very small
amount of pesticides is used in its production, and usually only one time per season.
As for other agricultural goods, demand is largely driven by price. Imported products
(both dates and processed products) tend to be sold for higher prices. For fresh dates
however, supply is available only for a short season (after harvesting), while consumer
demand is spread longer in the year. When there is a glut, supply outstrips demand. At
all other times there is high demand outside peak harvest seasons. Processed can
extend the life of the produce, but is still perceived to be low quality when from Gaza.
For processed products, especially date paste, there is a strong growing local market,
provided products are considered of good quality, are well-branded, packaged and
marketed.
Table 2 Local production and total supply of palm date fruits
Locally produced
Imported
Tonnes
Percentage of total
5.135
93%
385
7%
Total supply
5.520
100%
*Source: Ministry of Agriculture 2012. Note, calculating with a production of 150kgs/tree, this
equates to 36,800 local palm trees producing. The difference between this number and the
number of palm date trees cited by MoA in Gaza can be attributed to not all trees being
pollinated, some trees being too young to produce, and some date production being consumed at
the producer household and thus not being counted.
In general, palm date production requires a relatively small amount of inputs (fertilisers
and pesticides), costing some 20NIS per tree. Palm trees do not require a huge amount
of water, approximately 50m3 of water per year, and they are saline tolerant. Roughly 20
trees per dunum can be planted although most often trees are scattered around the
borders of dunums. This makes them a suitable crop for Gaza growing conditions.
The main production activities include pruning, trimming, pollination and punch hanging,
and are carried out by men, while women‟s involvement in the production cycle consists
primarily in the harvesting of dates. The production itself does not require intensive
labour as each dunum (1000 square meters)of land cultivated with 20 trees requires 1
man worker and three women engaged in the harvesting (picking up of dates).
Altogether, costs of wages add up to around 50NIS per tree. However, it should be
noted that small-scale producers (<20 trees) and medium-scale producers (20-60 trees)
represent small family farmers who mostly rely on unpaid family labour, thus saving
costs as male family members carry out production activities, while women family
members engage in harvesting. Large scale producers (60+ trees) employ temporary
labour ranging from 2-8 workers for a total period of 2 months (as average per year), the
majority of which are women. Large producers also use family labour to reduce
production costs.
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In terms of marketing, about 50% of total production is short sold by producers to traders
at the beginning of the season. In fact, there is a custom in the Gaza Strip of booking the
palm date tree before the harvesting period (this selling agreement is called a short
selling to traders). Each mature tree (approximately 150kg of dates) can be booked for
approximately 200 NIS.
This short selling is important for many producers because at harvest time there is an
oversupply of local (and possibly also imported) dates on the market making it difficult to
find buyers who give reasonable prices. This method ensures a guaranteed income to
the producers without the risks associated with dumping prices3 coupled to oversupply at
the peak of the harvest season, as harvested ripe dates are subject to spoiling very
quickly after harvesting (1-2 days) unless stored in cold storage facilities. Furthermore,
the limited capacity (as commented below a major problem is lack of fuel for the cold
storage units currently in Gaza with only 5 of 20 currently running) and high cost of cold
storage also affect the marketing chain. Another strategy used by producers is
processing of dates into date paste, syrups or other products.
Around 25% of total production is sold by farmers to wholesalers. The average price is 1
NIS/kg of dates, so the selling price for 1 tree (150kgs) is approximately 150NIS. From
the sale price the farmer bears the cost of a 6% fee of on the total transaction (9
NIS/150kgs) to be paid to the wholesaler. This average price disguises a great deal of
market fluctuations. Typically a farmer does not sell all the produce at once or even
using the same channels or buyers. The farmer will harvest at several moments,
depending on whether the date is ripe or pre-ripe and according to market
flows/demands. The price for 1 kg of dates ranges between 0.5 NIS-3 NIS/kg.
Around 15% of total production is sold directly by farmers to retailers. The average
selling price is 2NIS/ kg, meaning 300NIS per tree (150kgs/tree). Unlike selling to
wholesalers, this transaction does not require the payment of fees. As described above,
seasonal price fluctuations might range from 1.5 – 4 NIS. While this marketing channel
receives higher income, it also comes with higher risk. Indeed due to the low capacity of
storage, buyers have a limited time frame during which they can sell dates before they
spoil and thus invest considerably more efforts to timely negotiate with buyers and hand
the products to them.
Around 10% of total production is sold directly to micro-enterprise processors (many of
which are run by the Al-Ahlyia Association for the Development of Palms & Dates) for
date paste or other food processing products (syrup, jam etc.). The average selling price
is 1.5-2 NIS/kg.
3
At the time of harvesting there is a glut of dates in the market and prices can fall markedly, rising again
near the end of the season.
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Table 3 Income per palm date tree (NIS) for producers selling their fresh produce
Farmer to
trader (short
sell)
Average price (range)
NIS
Average Income
Farmer
to
retailer
Farmer to
wholesaler
Farmer to
processor
1.33
1.5 (0.5-3)
2 (1.5-4)
1.5 (1.5-2)
200
225
300
225
Fee
0
13.5 (6%)
0
0
Labour
50
50
50
50
Inputs
20
20
20
20
130
141.5
230
155
867
943
1533
1033
Average profit per tree
(~150kgs)
Average profit per
tonne
In terms of generated income, there are no differences between men and women
producers as the selling price is usually the same.
The processing units run by the Al-Ahlyia Association, mainly involve women in the
processing of date pastes, syrups and jam. There are 120 employees, including 110
women. This processing unit involves women workers in labour-intensive, seasonal, lowpaid work. Women workers are usually employed for a temporary period of time (2-4
months) yearly, earning about 700 NIS per month. The unit is managed by two
supervisors, a woman who is a general supervisor and a man who oversees technical
production during the processing stages. Production quantities are forecast based on
prior product requests from consumers, and are the responsibility of two employees
within the association. Usually the association decides on the packaging, branding and
marketing of products for different channels, namely: the supermarkets, small shops,
local markets and bakeries.
In addition, many women process their pastes, jams, and syrups at home for both
household consumption and trade to neighbours, and local market places, though the
latter is done on a much lower scale and scope (around 10% of total market; mainly for
household consumption and some local petty trade). A small number of large-scale
traders also engage in the processing of dates into date pastes and jams, and rely on
women‟s labour for processing. Labour costs add up to around 150 NIS/150kg to the
total cost of production for these traders. The marketing of processed products is usually
done by small scale producers themselves, with only 10% of women actually
participating in marketing activities, especially female-headed households.
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Table 4- Income per palm date tree (NIS) for producers processing date paste at
the household level
Farmers/traders to
consumers
Using family labour
for processing
10 (9-11)
Farmers/traders to
consumers
Using hired labour
for processing
10 (9-11)
525
525
Fee
0
0
Labour
50
200
Inputs
20
50
Average profit per tree (~150kgs)
455
275
Average profit per tonne
3033
1833
Average price (range) NIS/kg
Average Income
Dates are consumed by a wide section of consumers across the Gaza Strip. The
majority of consumers buy fresh dates, with most consumers preferring ripe dates over
pre-ripe dates. Dates are particularly popular during specific seasons like Eid Al Adha
and Ramadan.
Harvested ripe dates are subject to spoiling very quickly after harvesting (1-2 days)
unless stored in cold storage facilities. Some traders (and occasionally large producers)
are able to book cold storage in one of the 5 working cold storage facilities in Gaza
(there are around 20 in total in Gaza but many are not operational largely due to fuel
shortages). Cold storage units have a capacity of 100 tonnes, and to book 1 tonne of
dates for storage costs 200 NIS per month. Storing for one month is usually long enough
for market prices to rise again following the glut. Usually this option is only available to
traders.
Low-income consumer households process their own date paste and jam for household
consumption. Middle- and high-income households tend to purchase processed date
products from retailers. Most consumers buy from central marketplaces due to
freshness, quality and lower prices. Others buy at higher price at supermarkets or from
mobile sellers when in need of smaller quantities.
1.1 Chain actors and recent interventions
Producers can be categorised as small-scale (<20 trees), medium-scale (20-60 trees)
and large-scale (>60 trees). Input suppliers mainly supply pesticides, seedlings,
fertilisers, and other farm tools. Wholesalers work as intermediaries between
farmers/traders and retailers. Wholesalers sell on an auction basis and the supplier
(farmer or trader) and buyer (retailers) pay a fee of 6% to the wholesaler. The wholesaler
is an intermediary who does not sell to the public. Traders usually buy from producers on
a short-sell basis (i.e. they book the crop around the start of the season and pay cash to
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the farmer upfront). Over the past years, traders have developed a relationship of trust
with producers. Unlikely most food commodities, traders do not buy from producers at
harvest time. With no large processors for the traders to sell to, traders usually sell to
wholesalers or retailers. Retailers include those selling at local market places, vegetable
stores, and larger scale supermarkets.
Table 5: Value chain actors, numbers and gender disaggregation
Actors
Owners
N.
%
W
Formal
Employees
Inputs shops
12
0
%
M
100
N.
Traders
70
0
100
140
0
Small scale
farmers
663
4.2
95.8
0
Medium scale
farmers
572
4
95
Large scale farmers
195
5
Processing
1
Wholesaler
Retailers
Unpaid workers
24
%
W
0
%
M
100
N.
%
M
%
W
0
0
0
100
0
0
0
0
0
4
75
25
1
0
100
8
60
40
95
7
60
40
5
70
30
0
100
113
97
3
0
0
0
2
0
100
4
0
100
0
0
0
300
5
95
150
0
100
150
0
100
The main CBO active in the palm date sector in the Gaza Strip is the Al-Ahlyia
Association for the Development of Palms & Dates based in Deir Al-Balah. The Al-Ahlyia
Association comprises three small processing units: a food processing unit (date paste,
jam and syrup), a fodder production unit (using the skins and stones of dates) and a
handicrafts production unit. The Al-Ahlyia Association provides extension services to
producers related to agro-technical issues, as well as related extension. Most of these
extension services are small in outreach and are not carried out on a regular basis.
FAO, GEF, AFD, WFP, and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and
other different international NGOs are supporting or have supported the palm date
sector, funding various projects. The main government institution connected to the palm
date sector is the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
As the Ministry of National Economics (MoNE) does not actively support palm dates
sector and the processed products there is a need for quality control on processed
products to increase consumers level of trust on local products.
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In recent years imported dates have also been available, contributing to 7% of the total
supply of Gaza‟s market. Date fruits are imported to Gaza, mostly from the West Bank
and Israel, while date paste may also be imported from the Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The imports of date fruit during the harvesting season contribute to an additional
oversupply at that time.
Table 6 Actors involved in the date palm sector and their interventions
Actor
Producers
Description
Distributed throughout Gaza, but concentrated around
Deir Al-Balah, as well as in eastern villages of Khan
Younis
Input Suppliers (various)
Various, supplying pesticides, seedlings, fertilisers, and
other farm tools
Traders (various)
Procurement of date fruit and marketing to wholesalers,
retailers and processors
Retailers (various)
Various, from small market stalls to large retailers
Palm dates cluster
This is a recent established cluster with currently 15
members of palm date cluster including: 8 dates
producers who do processing, 3 women who do
handicrafts processing, one fodder processing unit which
managed by Al-Ahlyia Association, Al- Awda factories,
Al- Ahlyia Association for the Development of Palms &
Dates
and
Palestinian
Palm
Association
for
Development. The main objective of the cluster is to
strengthen the competitiveness of local companies, and
especially SME, in order to increase their market share
on local market.
Al-Ahlyia Association the main CBO is implementing
various donors funded projects (see below): introducing
new Palm tree varieties, providing technical support,
extension services to farmers, palm date food processing
units, fodder processing, handicrafts processing.
FAO has funded a project on red palm weevil control,
which was implemented through the Al-Ahlyia
Association. The project was focussing on monitoring
insect behaviour through the distribution and the
instalment of pheromone traps, as well as awareness
raising activities on weevil identification and control
mechanisms.
GEF has funded a project on red palm weevil ( infest)
control, which was implemented through the Al-Ahlyia
Association . The project also focussed on monitoring
insect behaviour through the distribution and the
instalment of pheromone traps, awareness raising
activities, a field survey of 30,000 palm trees, and
providing the necessary treatment for the infected trees.
GEF funded also a project to provide support for the
development of palm date processing industries (namely
Al- Ahlyia Association for the
Development of Palms & Dates
FAO
Global Environment Facility
(GEF)
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food processing, handicrafts, and fodder processing),
implemented by Al-Ahlyia. The project was focusing on
building the capacity of the date processing units,
through providing equipment, tools and related inputs for
processing .
AgenceFrançaise de
Développement (AFD)
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA)
The NGO Development
Center (NDC)
Welfare Association
Arab fund for Economic and
Social Development
Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
Ministry of National Economics
(MoNE)
AFD has
agriculture
cultivation,
NDC).This
funded a project for the rehabilitation of
lands, and the expansion of palm tree
through introducing new varieties (with NPA,
project was also implemented by Al-Ahlyia
Association. AFD recently gave financial support for the
development of palm dates cluster, injunction with the
Palestinian Authority and Chamber of Commerce.
NPA has also funded a project for the rehabilitation of
agriculture lands, and the expansion of palm tree
cultivation, through introducing new varieties (with AFD,
NDC).
Moreover NPA has funded a project to provide technical
capacity support through supplying new processing
equipment
to food processing unit and fodder
processing unit , which are managed by Al- Ahlyia
Association.
NDC has also has funded a project for the rehabilitation
of agriculture lands, and the expansion of palm tree
cultivation, through introducing new varieties (with AFD,
NPA).
Supported the original establishment of small food
processing units, at Al- Ahlyia Association around 2007
and provided basic technical training for women on dates
food processing.
Implemented a project through the Al-Ahlyia Association
to support fodder processing from the dates waste, and
distributing the fodder for livestock breeders.
Provides extension on the red palm weevil control.
Agricultural Fund provides loans supporting producers,
set standards of specifications for production, do quality
monitoring of all products.
1.2 Challenges and constraints in the palm date sector
The figure below presents a problem tree analysis highlighting the key challenges and
constraints encountered in the Gaza Strip palm date production and processing industry,
detailing underlying causes and effects on Palestinian male and female farmers and
other actors in the olive value chain. This problem tree was made by the participants to a
workshop of the Gaza UPA Platform held on March 20th 2014 in Gaza City. Participants
are representatives of the 30 organisations that are playing a key role in the Urban and
Peri-urban Agricultural sector.
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Diagram 1 Problem Tree Analysis for the Palm Date Sector in the Gaza Strip
Livelihood conditions of palm date
producers and processors are deteriorated
Palm date sector contribution
agricultural total value has diminished
to
Low income of Palm date producers and processors
Over supply and low prices at glut
periods
1. Lack of cold storage and processing
2. Imports at times of local over
supply
3.Low capacity of existing factories
and processing units
Low competitiveness of local
processed products
1. Low diversity of palm date
products
2.Consumers donot trust the local
product/lack of quality control
3.Poor packaging and storage
4. Lack of protection and enabling
policies for producers and
processors
Low productivity of palm date
trees
1.Bad quality of pollen
2.Low quality of cultivated
palm trees variety
3.Poor research and extension
services (insufficient capacity;
only as response strategy to
problems)
4.Palm date diseases and
insects
The main challenges are related to over-supply and related low market prices at gut
periods, low palm tree productivity and low competitiveness of processed date products
on the local market.
The main causes for the low productivity of palm date trees are:
1. The main challenges facing the production of palm dates mainly relate to the
weakness of the productive capacity due to the lack of good pollen and low
productivity of cultivated varieties compared to other varieties.
2. Over the last five years, one of the major threats to the cultivation of date palm
trees
has
been
the
now
widespread
red
palm
weevil
"Rhynchophorusferrugineus". This kind of insect probably arrived from Egypt
through the tunnels. Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunk of palm
trees up to a meter long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant.
The Red Palm Weevil‟s holes are slowly killing trees. About 20% of the trees
cultivated in the Gaza Strip are affected and need to be treated chemically.
3. As for other agricultural sectors, agricultural extension and applied research
provided either by government agencies or NGOs is weak, with low geographical
coverage.
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The main causes for over supply and low market prices at glut periods are:
1. The biggest challenge for the palm date sector is the large volume of dates that
arrive at the same time on the market around harvest time, resulting in low
prices.
2. There is very little capacity in Gaza for (cold) storing dates, which would allow
producers to wait for higher prices.
3. Processing of palm dates would be one way to deal with the market glut of dates.
However, existing processing capacity is relatively low and is limited to some
micro-enterprises run by women through the Al-Ahlyia Association.
The main causes for low competitiveness of processed palm dates products on the
local market are:
1. Consumers prefer imported processed dates products (syrup, jam) due to their
higher (perceived) quality and safety. Such negative perception is particularly
disadvantageous to women as most processing is done by them and their
organisations. The challenge is to improve the market share of locally processed
products through better processing and marketing practices that can position
women further.
2. Date paste, syrups and jams are not marketed effectively (poor packaging,
branding) and cannot compete with imported Israeli and Turkish products.
However, date paste is better marketed and more trusted by consumers in Gaza.
3. In terms of processed dates (syrup, jam, paste, etc.), local products are
perceived by Gaza consumers to be of lower quality compared to imported
products. Quality needs to be improved to increase local market share.
4. Even Al-Ahlyia Association, that runs the only palm date processing unit, faces
challenges such as poor access of the processed products to markets; need for
improved working conditions (including place, lack of safety equipment, etc.);
limited processing capacity of the processing unit, and high prices of packaging
and branding materials. Women workers have very limited knowledge and
experience in food processing, marketing and quality assurance and control.
5. There is general lack in the Gaza Strip of knowledge on quality standards and
poor access to quality certification. Safety processing standards are not followed
with regards to quality improvement.
2. Vision, scenarios and proposed interventions
2.1 Vision
The following vision was developed by a large number of local actors actively involved
in the Gaza palm date sector in a workshop facilitated by the project of the Gaza
Platform for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (March 20th, 2014)
“All men and women producers and workers in the palm date sector, both men and
women, enjoy a decent standard of living, which brings them food security and
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contributes to make the palm date sector in the Gaza Strip a strategic, protected,
developed sector capable of competing with imported products.
2.2 Scenarios
Two possible scenarios are here discussed, representing the projected political and
economic context that could affect the way the palm date sector may grow in the future.

First scenario: Political stability. A political stable environment will reflect
positively on the overall economic condition and growth in the country. Political
stability will also entail the establishment of a national unity government,
accompanied with a full national reconciliation. This situation will eventually reflect
positively on all other life dimensions, improve relations with neighbouring countries,
accelerate development and growth, as well as increase funding opportunities and
external support. Both increased employment opportunities and increased labour
productivity are envisaged, enhancing consequently the living standard of both
Palestinian men and women.

Second scenario: Political instability and deteriorating household economy:
Foreseen political instability entails the continuation of political disagreement and
reluctance towards national reconciliation. This situation will further deteriorate the
economic and living standards of households involved in palm date production,
processing and marketing. External funding and support for development activities
will continue to be limited. With the lack of national stability, poverty levels and
unemployment rates are not expected to decrease, and external investments in the
various productive sectors will remain at a low level.
In view of the unlikelihood of the first scenario to materialise, strategies and interventions
for the palm date sector in the Gaza Strip will work under the assumption of the second
and current scenario. Resultant strategies to achieve the vision formulated in section 2.1
will take into account the constraints posed by this scenario and work notably on
systemic changes that encompass the independence of external inputs, that promote
better palm tree management and harvesting, improve storage, processing and
packaging and work on creating higher value products for the local market. Section 2.6
below will assess the risks that are related to working under this scenario.
2.3 Needed systemic change
In view of the vision above, the analysis of the current context for the palm date sector,
the challenges and constraints mentioned in section 1, and the scenario under which
strengthening of the palm date sector in the Gaza Strip has to be achieved, the project
Consortium recommends that the following systemic changes are facilitated by the
project and operated by the local actors involved in the sector.
Where most of the here recommended systemic changes in the palm date value chain
would be necessary under both scenarios (more and less political stability), they become
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critical for the survival of the palm date sector in the Gaza Strip under the second
scenario. The following three systemic changes are considered essential to pursue in
the palm date sector:
1. Reducing over supply and glut periods by facilitating better use of cold storage
and the processing of higher quality products (paste, syrups, jams) for a local
market.
2. Increase in quality control and consumer perception of local products. This will
require that necessary improvements are made in processing, packaging and
storage. This also requires strengthening capacities of control and extension
agencies and coordination among actors in the chain.
3. A deliberate focus on women as future key players in an innovative technology
process for diversifying and increasing quality of palm date related products and
their marketing.
2.4 Proposed strategy and interventions
The proposed interventions will be carried out under the current scenario, where there is
no political stability and weak economic incomes at the household level. In the not so
near future, the political instability will possibly continue with negative influence on the
economic situation of the GS that will remain weak. Therefore, under this scenario the
poor living conditions of many of the poorer households in the GS risk to remain
unchanged in the future. Moreover, there will be limited external development support ,
while no important shifts from emergency to development approach are foreseen in
internationally funded projects. Therefore poverty and unemployment rates risk to
increase while private sector investments risk to contract. In spite of these bleak
perspectives there is scope for a better reality even within these hard economic
conditions. As mentioned above important systemic change in a number of domains is
necessary to shift economic dynamics in a more positive sense.
The vision for the palm date sector is to work on achieving increased income and a good
standard of living for palm date producers and those involved in the processing and
marketing of dates and date products. This can be through improved storage and more
staggered marketing and improvement of processing practices, so that quality of
products increases and can fetch higher consumer demand and prices.
This requires increasing and improving quality control, extension and training; enhancing
access to finance, certification of product quality and consumer marketing.
The following are proposed intervention ideas by local value chain actors. Activities will
be focused around the producing areas of Deir al-Balah and the Eastern villages of Khan
Younis. The project will build on and coordinate with the efforts started by the palm date
cluster to facilitate the establishment of a broader palm date platform to coordinate
between all actors in the palm dates sector. The Al-Ahlyia Association for the
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Development of Palms & Dates, a well-known CBO respected by different market actors,
could be the local platform coordinator.
Proposed interventions to improve processing, product quality and marketing:
1. Training/capacity building of women working in Al-Ahlyia Association processing
units. Staff would be trained in processing techniques to improve efficiency and
quality and to produce on a larger scale. In addition, staff will be capacitated in
post processing quality assurance and control, better marketing and accessibility
to market and improving quality standards and quality certification. Training
would be provided by local training institutes (MoA), as Al-Ahlyia has current
limited capacity to do this themselves. Capacity building would include food
safety, packaging, storage, labelling and branding and developing marketing
channels for processed goods to ensure more sustainable employment
opportunities for women workers. Furthermore, improving women workers
working conditions, especially through ensuring a safe working environment.
Other interventions would involve to facilitate their access to a co-investment
fund to cover processing costs, especially raw materials, and equipment.
2. The Association on its turn could be capacitated and trained in in processing-related extension for more outreach to individual households and women in
particular. The Al-Ahlyia Association can share and bring its extension expertise
to women who engage in processing at the household level to improve their
processing quality, improve packaging and branding, and better access markets
(possibly by clustering households for joint marketing and by introducing cold
storage at household level).
3. Support development of new (solar based) cold storage equipment and
infrastructure at household level and in form of larger storage units. At the same
time, small scale producers could be supported to organise sharing the costs of
leasing cold storage space in the presently functioning cold storage units that are
operating in Gaza, each with a capacity of around 100 tonnes. Storage costs per
tonne are 200 NIS per month. This means that if 1 tonne of dates is sold on
average for 2000 NIS, then the cost of storage is 10% of this value. Hence, by
storing the produce for one month, the market price only needs to increase by
10% of this cost to be recovered, which is virtually certain to occur after the peak
supply glut. A co-investment will be available to finance farmers to put dates in
cold storage.
4. Facilitate linkages between research institutions, including the Faculty of
Agriculture of al-Azhar University and Faculty of Science of the Islamic University
with producers and other chain actors, through promoting the use of applied
scientific research methods to improve processing quality and develop new
processing and storage techniques. Also build relationships with input/service
providers to introduce new processing and packaging technologies and
techniques
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5. Facilitate initiating of local consumers campaign, which will be set up to promote
a “buy-local” products in order to enhance consumers‟ trust in local produce.
Government institutions, private sector organizations, namely Pal Trade and the
Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders might be encouraged to launch
targeted marketing campaigns. In addition, processing unit produce could be
linked to new potential consumers/customers through current food voucher
distribution programs implemented by (WFP, UNRWA and other organization.
6. Facilitate a co-investment fund, linked to available finance and micro-finance
facilities. At the level of the local value chain platforms, the co-investment fund
might be used as a guarantee fund to attract financial institutions to innovate in
their service provisions in this area. Alternatively the co-investment fund could
help address initial problems with money flows in the chain (for example, when
cold storage is improved to increase marketing options, money flows will be
delayed and should be looked at in coordination with any changes in the
warehouse system).
In addition the palm date cluster/platform and G/UPA might address specific
interventions to improve productivity of palm trees:
1. Capacity building of extension institutions, including the staff of local extension
departments of the MoA and the Al-Ahlyia Association and other NGOs to update
their extension services for more efficient outreach. Capacities of such extension
staff need to be built to better (more effectively, larger coverage, more permanent
support) support producers and promote good agricultural management, pest
and disease management using participatory training approaches (PTD, UPA
producers‟ learning and action field schools). As there is not any training capacity
in such approaches in the Gaza Strip, nor in the West Bank, the project will
engage in a PTD/farmer school capacity building process in a learning-by-doing
mode involving both producers as well as staff of NGOs and MoA.
2. Improving productivity through the cultivation of new higher economic yield
varieties. At present most trees are of the Hayani variety (90%). The Ministry of
Agriculture believes that the introduction of new varieties (Ameri and Berhi), in
conjunction with good pollination techniques would boost production for tree
owners. This would be an intervention for the medium/long term due to the time it
takes for the trees to mature (5+ years).
3. Facilitate the establishment of a national palm plant nursery, a pollen collection
center, and a tissue culture laboratory in coordination with the Ministry of
Agriculture and research institutions to develop better, shorter and productive
varieties.
4. Facilitate linkages between research institutions, including the Faculty of
Agriculture of al-Azhar University and Faculty of Science of the Islamic University
with producers and other chain actors, through promoting the use of applied
scientific research methods to provide updated information and knowledge on the
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possibility of introducing new potential varieties and improve practices with
regard to red palm weevil control.
5. Build relationships with input/service providers to supply red palm weevil
detection devices, to introduce automated pollination mechanisms, and industrial
maturation equipment.
Of these proposed interventions, the project will concentrate on interventions 1 (capacity
building of training and extension institutes) and 4 and 5 through the building of a local
date palm platform. Interventions 2 and 3 will be further discussed in the local platform
and Gaza Wide UPA Platform for possible action by the actors involved.
2.5 Gender dynamics
Women, in comparison with other chains, are only involved to a limited extent in the date
palm sector. They are mainly present and responsible for processing, both at household
level and at the level of the processing unit set up by Al-Ahlyia Association. They have
more difficulties in accessing information and training as they have poor communication
and coordination with other market actors (ex. extension and training services; retailers).
They do not have access to finance are not able to purchase the needed equipment and
inputs (such as storage and packaging equipment and materials). Coupled to lack of
knowledge and skills in processing, their production is low and of irregular quality. It is
for these reasons that in its focus on processing, the project will make specific efforts to
work with women, both at household level as well as at the level of the Association.
2.6 Risk analysis
As in the case of the Olive Value Chain, also in the palm date value chain risks are less
closely related to the blockade of the Gaza strip described under Scenario 2, as
compared to other urban agricultural sectors. The intervention strategy is targeting
foremost the local market as demand for fresh and processed dates is not met, while
locally produced high quality date products are almost non-existent in the local market.
The main impediment created by a continuing closure of the Gaza Strip is in obtaining
modern processing and solar-based storage equipment from outside (new or secondhand from abroad or the West Bank), although this is less critical than for the olive
sector.
The main risks as related to development of a viable palm date chain are the following:
1. The zero distribution approach : Actors in Gaza are not familiar with this
approach. As most palm date projects were implemented with a „free distribution‟
approach, the project needs to face a number of expectations. This requires
honest discussions from the start and a clear explanation of why this approach
can work sustainably.
2. Willingness of actors to engage and broaden the palm date cluster into a wider
platform: Date interventions in Gaza up to now have usually focussed on a single
value chain actor at a time. The idea of a value chain approach, bringing together
actors from across the market system is unfamiliar to most actors. Therefore, it
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may be a challenge to engage their interest at first if they do not immediately
understand what is in it for them. Also the current palm date cluster might feel
threatened in its functioning and be hesitant to open up to involvement of more
and other actors.
3. Red palm weevil cannot be well controlled: If there is a larger outbreak, this could
affect the palm date sector seriously, leaving producers with losses of trees that
take at least 5 years to begin producing again.
4. Seasonal price fluctuations: Each season there is a glut date supply at harvest
time. This is an ever-present risk to producers that they may struggle to sell their
dates at decent prices, affecting profitability and livelihoods.
5. Competition from imports: Despite the border for imports being usually closed, in
recent years imported dates have still amounted to around 7% of total supply in
the Gaza market. If borders are opened for more dates from outside Gaza this
can be expected to contribute to over-supply and lower prices at peak harvest
times. This will be a challenge for local producers to be competitive. A side effect
of more open borders could also bring other imported fruits into competition with
local dates. Date paste produced in Gaza is regarded as being of good quality
when compared with that imported from Israel and Turkey, however it is a little
more expensive. However, jams and syrups produced locally are considered
inferior to the imports preferred by Gaza consumers.
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Palm Dates Value Chain Report

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